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Schools struggle in ‘no man’s land’
Ally Wee, left, and Addison Matsui, both 4 years-old, wave flags and watch the Memorial Day Parade on Saturday morning. Wee is from North Bend and Matsui is from Coos Bay.
Bringing out the kid in all of us
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See the gallery to go with this story online at theworldlink.com/gallery
BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
Photos by Lou Sennick, The World
Scooby Doo stops and gives a high-five to a young man Saturday morning along South Fourth Street in Coos Bay during the annual Memorial Day Parade through the downtown area.
COQUILLE — Oregon’s education system is inefficient, say local educators, especially burdening rural school districts with more mandates, less funding, fewer resources and more paperwork. Nancy Golden, Oregon Education Investment Board’s chief education officer, swung down to the South Coast on Wednesday, meeting with Coquille, Myrtle Point, Coos Bay, Reedsport and Powers school officials. Golden has held the position since former chief education officer Rudy Crew resigned last year. OEIB launched in 2012, and requires “achievement compacts” with all school districts, education service districts, community colleges and public universities — asking them to set specific student achievement goals that align with Gov. John Kitzhaber’s “40-40-20” goal. OEIB began distributing grants through its Strategic Initiatives program last fall. The problem with Strategic Initiatives, said Coquille schools Superintendent Tim Sweeney, is it leaves out rural districts. The program is designed to match funds with community partners to support teacher development, early literacy, STEM and CTE programs, and college readiness. But rural school districts typically don’t have grant writers, and their communities don’t have the partners metro areas have. “Calling for partners unintentionally disadvantages some school districts,” Golden said. “We can’t keep coming up with urban solutions for rural communities.” SEE SCHOOLS | A8
Speed zone causes uproar Langlois townies wanted a lower speed limit, but got a surprise ■
BY AMY MOSS STRONG The World
LANGLOIS — The 170 residents here know their neighbors, watch out for each other’s children and gather at the market to hear the latest news. And when a government agency steps in and messes with the “townies,” they form a united front — and get results. Such was the case when,in a wellmeaning effort, a resident recently asked the Oregon Department of
Transportation to consider lowering the speed limit through town from 40 mph to 30 mph. Imagine the town’s surprise when, instead of lowering the speed limit, ODOT shortened the speed zone last month, moving the signs without notifying the community. The new, See the video for this shorter zone story online at e n co u ra ge d theworldlink.com/video drivers to travel even faster through town, residents claimed. “When ODOT gets a request,they are compelled to investigate,” said Langlois librarian Scott Smith. “So they came down and measured the cars and the average speed and based
on metrics, decided to move the speed zone north.” The 40 mph zone was moved from Floras Creek Road to in front of Piercy Suites, about a quarter-mile north. ODOT’s report referred to the “absence of roadside culture,” a phrase that rang hollow with residents. Students from the Wilderland School preschool walk regularly along the highway to the library and other places for field trips. The church has expanded its parking lot to accommodate increased attendance. Elderly residents who no longer drive walk along the highway to get to their destination. SEE LANGLOIS | A8
By Lou Sennick, The World
In front of the Raincoast Arts Gallery just feet away from U.S. Highway 101, owner Carol Waxham says some trucks passing by rattle the building. She is one in the Langlois community pushing to have the speed zone put back to its original length.
Auto parts price-fixing probe rattles industry
Police reports . . . . A2 What’s Up. . . . . . . . A3 South Coast. . . . . . A3 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . A4
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for their automobiles as a result of this conspiracy,” Brent Snyder, a deputy assistant attorney general in the antitrust division, said in an interview. So far, 34 individuals have been charged and 27 companies have pleaded guilty or agreed to do so, the Justice Department says. Collectively, they have agreed to pay more than $2.3 billion in fines. New cases have arisen with regularity,
with Attorney General Eric Holder promising last September that investigators “would check under every hood and kick every tire.” The most recent development came Thursday, when an executive from a Japanese company was charged with conspiring to fix the prices of heater control panels sold to Toyota and with persuading workers to destroy evidence. Officials say the investigation
State champions North Bend High School boys track and field team captures its first state title over the weekend in Eugene. Page B1
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WASHINGTON — An investigation into price-fixing and bid-rigging in the auto parts industry has mushroomed into the Justice Department’s largest criminal antitrust probe ever, and it’s not over yet. The investigation, made public four years ago with FBI raids in the
Detroit area, has led to criminal charges against dozens of people and companies, stretched across continents and reverberated through an industry responsible for supplying critical car components. The collusion has also saddled U.S. drivers with millions of dollars in extra costs. “It’s a very, very safe assumption that U.S. consumers paid more, and sometimes significantly more,
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BY ERIC TUCKER The Associated Press
stands out not just for its scope but also for the cooperation the authorities have received from Japan, Australia and other countries. Despite the challenges of prosecuting foreign nationals, the Justice Department has won guilty pleas from a series of Japanese executives who opted to get their punishment over with rather than SEE AUTO | A8
Partly sunny 62/51 Weather | A8
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